Anakin’s Old Lightsaber (The Last Command)

Ever since Luke’s blue lightsaber (and one of his body parts) tumbled down off a tower in Cloud City during the climax of The Empire Strikes Back, fans have been wondering where it ended up. In The Force Awakens it somehow ended up in the possession of Maz Kanata, but the new movie isn’t the first Star Wars story to bring back the blade that Anakin Skywalker used to murder Younglings.

Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy, considered by many to be the quintessential Expanded Universe work, was the first story to find a reason for the return of Luke’s old weapon. In the final book in the series, Luke gives it to Mara Jade, a former Imperial assassin who’d just overcome the Emperor’s brainwashing in order to help Luke to defeat his evil clone (it’s a complicated book). Luke and Mara Jade eventually get married, and there are plenty of adventures in the Expanded Universe where Anakin Skywalker’s old lightsaber is used to defend the galaxy from various threats.